The Ultimate Nightmare
by Hanyounoshikon
Summary: After torturing Kagura, Naraku finally knows Inuyasha's night of weakness. But in order to survive the night, Inuyasha has to turn to the most unlikely person to protect him, Sesshoumaru. Will Naraku win or will Sesshoumaru protect Inuyasha?
1. Battling Brothers

**This is not the default plot, but a serious canon plot we're doing in the meantime while we wait for new members to sign up for the remaining Naraku-taichi. So please think about joining our RPG forum while reading this. As the summary says, this is "The Ultimate Nightmare" for Inuyasha. I hope you all find this interesting for you to read. **

**The RPG members participating in this first chapter are Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Shippou, Miroku, Kagura and Naraku. Visit our profile to see who they really are. Please considering joining. **

**Dislclaimer: We do not own Inuyasha. All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**

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Inuyasha growled as Sesshoumaru had pushed back Tessaiga once again, with an almost amused expression on his face that really pissed off Inuyasha. Inuyasha glared hatefully at his older brother, wanting to drive his sword through Sesshoumaru's chest. "Come on, girly man, put up a fight!" Inuyasha taunted, trying to annoying Sesshoumaru the best he could. His friends were watching from the sidelines, worried for their hanyou friend.

"A fight, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru murmured, clashing Toukijin against Tessaiga again. "Just because I don't break a sweat doesn't mean you should get upset about it." His smirk only grew wider.

"Shut the hell up!" Inuyasha roared angrily, charging again only to get pushed back. Unlike Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha already began to sweat while they fought. "If you don't...I'll make sure to permantely shut you up once and for all!"

Kagome was standing on the sidelines, watching the fight and feeling worried for the hanyou. She was holding Shippou and standing near Sango. "Please win, Inuyasha..." she murmured under her breath.

Sesshoumaru charged up Toukijin, allowing the blue lightening to make Inuyasha jump back. "I'd like to see you try that, _hanyou_," he taunted, knowing how to anger his brother.

Inuyasha's face was red with rage, jumping a fair distance away from Sesshoumaru. He held Tessaiga in front of him, ready to send out his own power at Sesshoumaru. "I'll show you what this hanyou can do!" Inuyasha growled, bearing his fangs at at his older brother.

Sesshoumaru was still amused, anticipating his brother's next move. Inuyasha was just too predictable. That was why the daiyoukai knew that angering him gave himself the upper hand. He held Toukijin up, preparing for the attack that was to come.

"Take this! Kaze no KIZU!" Inuyasha swung his blade, knowing that Sesshoumaru could release a more powerful attack...but he was ready. He has the Bakuryuha...he would surely win with that on his side.

Sesshoumaru did as Inuyasha had anticipated. Concentrating his energy, the blue lightening surging off of Toukijin formed into a dragon before striking towards his brother. _Souryuuha!_

Inuyasha smirked, anticipating this from his brother. "I knew you used that!" Inuyasha took a step forward, holding up Tessaiga. "BAKURYUHA!" Inuyasha shouted.

Sesshoumaru's smirk never dissolved. He had also anticipated this from his brother. Now he would crush Inuyasha's resolve. Thinking fast, he dropped Toukijin and pulled Tenseiga from its sheath, holding it in front of him. The combined attacks bounced off of his blade and pushed him back a few feet, but he was left standing by the time the attack had lost its strength. He suffered a few cuts and knew that his armor had just been ripped apart, but was not majorly Inuyasha was caught off guard by the fact that his plan had backfired, Sesshoumaru picked Toukijin back up and charged forward, using all of his speed. Pushing his blade forward, he stabbed it through Inuyasha's abdomen and twisted it, producing electric charge as he pulled the now bloodied blade out. He stood back to admire the work he had done. The blood that was seeping out of his brother's gut was pooling on the ground underneath him. "Inuyasha, know your place in the world," he murmured darkly, giving off the persona of an evil killer.

Inuyasha's eyes widen in shock, he hadn't anticipated that at all! He was in such a state of shock that he hadn't seen Sesshoumaru appear in front of him and run his blade through his stomach. Inuyasha spat out blood, falling backwards holding onto Tessaiga tightly as he hit the ground. Blood quickly formed around him, his free hand gripped his injured abdomen. "Damn...Sesshoumaru..." He grunted out, grimacing at the pain.

Kagome's eyes widened, dropping Shippou onto the ground. "INUYASHA!" she shouted, running to his aid before he could do anything to prevent her from doing so. It was something she did on impulse. She hated whenever he got hurt. She reached out to touch him and felt her eyes water.

Inuyasha grunted, he looked at Kagome who looked as if she was about to cry. But Sesshoumaru wasn't even that far...he was so close still! "G-Get back...K-Kagome..." He began to sat up, wincing while he did so but glared at Sesshoumaru, warning the daiyoukai not to try anything while Kagome was on the battle field.

Kagome was being stubborn. She didn't want to leave his threw a tear-filled glare in Inuyasha's brother's direction. Why did they always have to be at each other's throats?! They were brothers!

By this time, Sesshoumaru had scoffed at how fast his brother fell. He was busy sheathing both of his swords. Looking down at his brother who was still trying to stand, his expression hardened back into ice. "You are still weak, little brother," he informed Inuyasha.

"Shut up." Inuyasha coughed up blood but wiped his chin, trying to ignore the pain shooting through his body. He shakily got to his knees, holding his stomach and used Tessaiga to support his weight. Inuyasha's head turned to Kagome. "Get back...Kagome." He ordered once more, wanting to keep her safe.

Sesshoumaru was now preparing to leave. There was no point in going on any further. His brother was still too pathetic to bother killing. He was still unworthy of dying by his blade. "I will not kill you at this time," he announced, turning to leave, but still watching out of his peripheral vision in case his brother tried to do something stupid.

Inuyasha beared his fangs, holding Tessaiga in front of him, panting heavily. He began to feel the blood loss but chose to ignore it. "I-I'm not done with you, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha snarled. He hated when Sesshoumaru looked down on him. It pissed him off more than anything in the world. And one day, he was going to make sure his brother was never going to do it again. "D-Don't runaway, you coward!"

Kagome felt a tear escape an eye as she did as Inuyasha ordered. She just didn't want him to die! "I-Inuyasha..." she murmured.

Sesshoumaru rotated himself, seeing his rash and stubborn brother still wanting to challenge him. His eyebrow only rose, wondering how long Inuyasha would be able to hold out. "Oh, so you're still willing to play?" he mused, his lips twisting into a cruel smirk.

"Shut up. I'm not playing..." Inuyasha stood on his feet, holding Tessaiga with both hands. Once Kagome was back with the others, Inuyasha readied Tessaiga for another attack. "...bring it on!"

"Very well, then," Sesshoumaru stated, pulling out Toukijin and allowing it to pulse to life. The blade was begging for more of the hanyou's blood. The blood was still glistening on the sword. It wasn't going to make him feel bad if Inuyasha died while being an idiot.

Inuyasha stared at Sesshoumaru with unafraid eyes, forgetting his pain for a moment as he lifted Tessaiga. "Kaze no KIZU!" He shouted once more, releasing it.

Sesshoumaru already tell by just scent that the Kaze no Kizu was significantly weaker. He easily sliced through it with his sword and charged his brother, slicing a cut through his shoulder. He then used his speed to jump back before Inuyasha could retaliate. Continuing on would only lead to the hanyou's demise. That much was certain.

Inuyasha gasped at the pain in his shoulder, almost falling over as Sesshoumaru withdrew his blade. He grabbed his bleeding shoulder, wincing at the pain. _Dammit...the feeling in my arm... _Inuyasha thought, feeling the arm with the stabbed shoulder begin to go numb. But still, he refused to back down. He held Tessaiga with only one strong hand, glaring at Sesshoumaru. His vision began to blur due to the blood loss.

Sesshoumaru saw his brother wobble and sheathed Toukijin before the blade's blood lust could take over his power. "This battle has been decided," he stated, looking over at his weaker human companions.

Inuyasha growled at in anger and took a step forward, but lost his balance immediately, hitting the ground. He was close to losing conscious...but his hand was firmly gripped on Tessaiga. "Damn...you...Sesshoumaru..."

"Inuyasha!" she shouted, wanting to run back out to help him again, but knew that he'd protest it until Sesshoumaru left. Why didn't he just stop while he still had the chance to live? Oh yeah. Because he was Inuyasha.

Inuyasha struggled to get up but fell back down, letting out a weak cry of pain, his grip on Tessaiga loosening a bit. "I-I'm not done..." He grunted out, trying to get up.

"Pathetic," he scoffed, seeing Inuyasha's lame attempts to stand up. He looked down at his brother as if he was the scum of the earth.

Kagome had had it with the two. Her anger was now taking over her worry for her own safety and Inuyasha's condition. "Stop it!" she yelled, running to get in between Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru. Her glare was pinned on Sesshoumaru who only stared at her with a glimmer of curiosity. "Why do you two always have to do this?!" Focusing on Sesshoumaru, she added, "And if Inuyasha were as pathetic if you claim he is, he would have given up! But he's still insisting on fighting until one of you falls over!"

Inuyasha's eyes widen for a moment for narrowing. "Kagome, get the hell out of the way!" Inuyasha growled, finding energy but was still having trouble getting to his feet.

Kagome didn't even budge. She was too enraged to listen to reason.

Sesshoumaru scoffed, growing mildly annoyed at Kagome's defense of his brother. How many times had this girl ruined his moments of victory already? "Woman, you should learn to keep silent before someone cuts out your tongue," he warned her in a cold tone despite not wanting to be the one to literally do it.

Inuyasha winced as he got to his knees. "Sesshoumaru...I swear...if you lay a hand on her..." Inuyasha growled, trying to get to his feet. "Kagome...move!"

"You'll do what exactly, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru taunted, knowing how bad his brother's condition was. "You can't even stand."Looking at the woman who refused to move, he wondered if killing her would do him any good. And why hadn't the rest of his companions begun to do anything to help them?

The need to protect Kagome fueled his energy and he managed to hold Tessaiga with his good arm. "If you touch her...I'll slice off your other arm!" Inuyasha threatened, letting out a feral growl.

"Don't waste my time with your petty human sentiments," Sesshoumaru scoffed, wanting to do nothing more than leave by this point in time.

Kagome's eyes narrowed at Sesshoumaru's words. "Human emotions aren't petty!" she declared. "If you're so high and mighty, then why do you let a human girl travel with you?!"

Despite that question always annoying him...he wish Kagome would just shut up! Inuyasha grunted, finally standing and staggered over to Kagome. "Kagome...shut up and go back over there." Inuyasha ordered, not wanting her to irk Sesshoumaru anymore than she already had.

Kagome pinned Inuyasha with a glare that was sure to make him cringe even in the slightest bit.

Sesshoumaru was growing bored of this conversation. Not to mention, irritated. Rin was always brought up nowadays. He didn't take it as a surprise anymore. "Inuyasha, learn to control your wench better," he growled, watching how his brother hesitated when Kagome glared at him. With that last sentence, he had turned to walk away from them. He had other obligations to attend to, after all.

This time, Inuyasha didn't object to Sesshoumaru leaving. It would be better if he did leave...for his and Kagome's sake. Inuyasha growled, looking at Kagome as Sesshoumaru walked away. "Are you an idiot, Kagome?! He could have killed you!"

Kagome's glare had not left Inuyasha. "I may be impulsive at times, but I wasn't the idiot!" she declared, now venting her anger on him. "Did you want to die?!"

"No human would be stupid enough to stand up to Sesshoumaru! I can take a few more hits from him...you can't! One hit and your dead, Kagome!" Inuyasha growled, then his legs gave out and he hit the ground...once more. "Dam...mit..." He murmured, the pain returning.

"Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, placing her hands on his uninjured shoulder gently. "We need to get your injuries dressed." Being reminded of his pain made her instantly forget about the anger she held.

Inuyasha winced under her touch...growling a bit. "I'm fine..." He murmured, trying to get up but couldn't.

Kagome snorted. "Don't try to play Mr. Macho. I can see the pain written on your face."

Inuyasha growled but didn't have enough energy to argue at the moment. He was in immense pain, the pain was so bad that he began to close his eyes and slip into unconsciousness.

"Inuyasha!" she gasped, grabbing his body before he completely fell forward. Looking back at the others, she declared, "We need to get him somewhere safe!"

Sango ordered the firecat to transform into her larger form. Then ran to help Kagome place Inuyasha on Kirara."Kagome, lets get Inuyasha on Kirara. Then we'll leave," she ordered, wondering why Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru always exchanged blows despite being brothers.

"Right!" Kagome agreed, securing his body to Kirara. Looking over at Shippou, she suddenly realized that she had dropped him earlier while running to help Inuyasha. "Shippou-chan! I'm sorry about earlier!"

"C'mon Shippo!" Sango called as they secured Inuyasha "Lets get out of here, Shall we set up camp, or head to old Keade's?" Sango asked looking at Inuyasha

"We should probably set up camp. The quicker we close up his wounds, the better," Kagome suggested, knowing that her medical supplies were in her backpack. She just knew that they had to leave here. The scent of his blood would attract other demons.

"Knowing Inuyasha," Miroku said mirthfully, "instead of resting, he'll probably want to keep going after his enemies until he drops. Right, Inuyasha?" He looked at the hanyou expectantly.

Inuyasha was almost in a state of unconscious and did not have enough energy to answer Miroku, nor did he want to right now. Right now...his body was screaming at him to sleep but he was finding that a bit difficult.

Kagome shook her head. "Either way, he has no choice but to do it now." She wasn't going to let him repeat that Ryokan incident. Even if she wasn't there at the time, she heard about it later on.

Miroku frowned then. "You're right," he said to Kagome. Inuyasha's wounds were worse than he expected. Now was not the time to joke around.

Kagome nodded, waiting for Kirara to lead the them somewhere else. The longer they waited around, the more blood Inuyasha would lose.

Kirara walked very carefully with her wounded passenger, moving with gentle grace along side her mistress. Sango looked over Inuyasha noting how many wounds he had and wondered how much worse it could've been, knowing his elder brother."How about here?" she asked, looking around the nice tight enclosure they'd walked into, surrounded by trees, a small stream for fresh water and no doubt there would be a spring close by.

Kagome's eyes brightened, liking the spot that they were now at. "This looks great!" Looking at Inuyasha's body made her expression gloomy again. He had been stabbed through the stomach many times before, but the shoulder wound and the electric discharge would make his injuries that much more unbearable to heal. Setting down her backpack, she laid out a blanket and helped Sango move his body onto at her friend, she asked, "Sango-chan, do you think you could help me dress his wounds?" She was already beginning to pull off his blood-stained haori. She placed the fact of her having to see his bare chest out of her mind so she wouldn't have to blush throughout the entire ordeal.

Inuyasha groaned in pain, closing his eyes. He'd get his revenge on Sesshoumaru...one day. At the moment, breathing was a bit difficult and he couldn't do much but lay on the ground in pain.

Kagome hesitated to take off the under layer due to Inuyasha's sudden groan. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha..." she murmured, wondering if he even heard her.

Inuyasha tried to speak but found it useless. His energy was spent and all he wanted to do at the moment was sleep. So he did just that.

She heard his breathing slow and knew that he was now asleep. That was a good thing, she supposed. He needed to rest and hopefully, it would make the pain that was about to be inflicted on him that much more easier to deal with. She sent Sango out to get fresh water from the stream as she managed to finally get his inner white haori off of him. She cringed at the drying blood and knew that she had to clean all of it off and stopped the new blood from seeping out. Luckily, only his gut seemed to be the thing that was stabbed through. There were no vital organs that were damaged. Kagome idly wondered if Sesshoumaru often did that on purpose since the daiyoukai never seemed to aim for his brother's heart or lungs. Taking out her first aid kid, she opened it up and brought out gauze, trying to apply slight pressure on his wounds so that the blood would begin to stop flowing out of him.

His head was pounding. His eyes were unable to focus. Had he been dropped on his head? He seemed to somewhat recall something such as that happening...and Kagome-chan apologizing...for it?He lifted his hand to nimbly rub the back of his skull, feeling the well formed bump there. It hurt worse than when Inuyasha would hit him, probably because it was in a worse place than where Inuyasha would be so kind as to bash him with his fist. No wonder his head was spinning...Shippou took a deep breath. Speaking of Inuyasha, what was going on? And...why was the scent of the hanyou's blood in the air? The retched feeling of nervousness burgeoned in his chest, and he lifted himself with a start. What was going on?"Ah! What's...going on?!" he demanded in a choke. He quickly scanned his surroundings for enemies, lest their group were still being attacked. Fortunately, he found nothing but a worried face that contorted to friendliness at the sight of him as she dressed the wounds of what appeared to be Inuyasha. "Kagome-chan...?" Shippou asked hesitantly.

Kagome glanced back at Shippou as she continued to treat Inuyasha. "Shippou-chan!" she called, glad that he had finally come to. "I'm sorry about earlier," she repeated. "I just got caught up in helping Inuyasha..."

Shippou let out a quiet sigh of relief as he realized nothing too bad must have happened against Sesshoumaru (now that his head had more or less cleared, he remembered bits and pieces of the encounter)."No need to worry about me, Kagome-chan!" he reassured. "I'm a great warrior. You don't have to watch out for me all the time. Unlike that stupid Inuyasha, I'm too good to nearly get myself killed every time things get tough!" He grinned at his fantasy-endued bravado, thoughts of a tall, amazing fox demon suavely protecting his beaten down friends flashing through his head.

It didn't seem apparent that Shippou noticed the full extent of Inuyasha's injuries. She forced a cheerful smile for the kitsune to see before returning to take care of Inuyasha. By this time, Sango had returned with the water and helped with attending to the hanyou's wounds. With each touch of ointment applied to Inuyasha's wounds, the burning sensation must have spread, making him struggle even in his sleep. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha..." she murmured, feeling a few tears slip down her cheeks. She was still worried about his condition.

Inuyasha's nose twitched while he tried to sleep...but the scent of tears quickly entered his nose and he forced his eyes open. He could only hear a small part of her apology. "W-Why are you...sorry?" Inuyasha murmured, grimacing at the pain. She had no reason to be sorry...whether he'd like to admit it or not, it was his fault for being his this mess. Not hers. Yes, she was an idiot for trying to get between Sesshoumaru and him while they were fighting. But he knew she was just trying to help in her weird way.

Kagome's eyes widened, not expecting him to wake up so quickly. Tears still fell from her eyes despite her trying to keep them inside. "I-Inuyasha...?" she murmured before shaking her head and looking down at the wounds she was wrapping at the moment. "I... I'm sorry for going out there and worrying you. And... and for having to put you through this pain." She emphasized the last point by beginning to tie the wrap together around his abdomen. She was going to let Sango get to his shoulder.

Inuyasha's gaze shifted away from her crying face. He couldn't bear to see her tears, it made him feel horrible. "K-Keh...it aint your fault." He stated, despite it being a bit hard to breathe. "It's Sesshoumaru's...so stop crying..."

"B-but... you're hurt worse than usual..." she insisted, feeling more worried than guilty. She looked at his face that was now glancing away from her.

"It wasn't like it was you who made the wounds." Inuyasha pointed out, keeping up his "macho man " act. "I-I'm fine. T-These wounds will heal in a day or two..."He didn't exactly know if that was true or not. When he was struck by the Toukijin, he felt the power of the sword than just a regular blade impaling his body. It make take more than just two days to have his body completely heal.

Despite continuing to cry, Kagome's eyes narrowed slightly. "Don't try to play tough, Inuyasha. Toukijin was the sword that stabbed you. It will take longer than that to heal."

"Keh." Inuyasha grunted out, still not looking at her face. "They're just a few scratches. I'll be fine by tomorrow."

Kagome was stubborn, hating when he lied to her even if it was to make her feel better. It just made her feel worse in the long run. "It's a hole through your body," she corrected. Now she had stopped crying, growing irritated with his insistence.

"I've had holes in my body before, Kagome. And am I dead yet? No. I'm fine. Stop worrying already." Inuyasha retorted, becoming irritated with her constant worrying over him and crying...but at least she stopped crying.

Kagome glared at him. "You expect me to stop worrying about someone I care about?!" she demanded, not caring who heard her by this point in time. "If I hadn't gotten in the middle of your fight, you would have _died_!"

Inuyasha scowled, his head snapping her direction and he began to try and sit up. "I wasn't going to die, Kagome! I can take care of myself-!" A jolt of pain shot through his body and he winced, holding his abdomen. It hurt a lot more than he expected it to.

Kagome's anger instantly dissolved when she saw him holding his abdomen. "Inuyasha! You shouldn't get up so fast! You could re-open your wound," she chided, wanting to help him lay back down.

Inuyasha grimaced at the pain in his stomach, he was going ot make Sesshoumaru pay for this. "I'm fine." He murmured but laid back down.

She decided not to argue back this time, wanting to avoid making him move quickly. She sighed, looking at his face, holding in the urge to cry again.

Inuyasha saw the look on her face and knew that she was holding in her tears. He could smell the tears that didn't fall and he instantly felt bad for making her cry...or at least for making her want to cry. He knew she was just worried about him...because let's face it, he wasn't exactly Mr. Play-it-safe. He closed his eyes, exhaling as some of the pain in his abdomen subsided. "Sorry..." He murmured loud enough for her to hear.

Kagome let a gasp slip out. It was very rare when Inuyasha apologized to anyone. "...Inuyasha?" she murmured, making sure that he was still awake and not talking in his sleep.

"What?" He asked, knowing she was still getting over the sheer shock of him apologizing. He knew he did it rarely, but it irked him a bit when someone gasped when he apologized.

"So you _were _awake..." she said with a sudden smile. The last time he said something as sweet to her was when he passed out as a human. She just wanted to make sure this time around.

"Of course I'm awake! Why would I be asleep and say that?" Inuyasha demanded, staring at her face. At least she wasn't close to crying anymore.

She shook her head. "No reason," she lied, not wanting to tell him the truth. She knew it would embarrass him.

Inuyasha scowled, she knew something he didn't...and about him none the less. "What?" He demanded, his eyes narrowing at this time, Sango had fixed up his shoulder wound and the rest of their friends kept a safe distance away from the pair, but were close enough to hear some of the conversation.

Kagome was going to tell him, but found that her voice was suddenly gone. Now, _she _was getting embarrassed! She turned her face away from his as it got heated. "Uh..." she could only say.

She was _blushing_! But why?! What he done in the past that made her blush like that...and why couldn't he remember it!? "What, Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded, his voice a bit more forceful than before.

"W-well..." she trailed off. "When we encountered the spider-head demons... you were hit with that poison while you were human." She was hoping that jogged his memory. "And you said some things to me while you were poisoned..."Sucking in a breath, she let it back out. "You asked to use my lap and then said... said..." She couldn't continue on because of her embarrassement.

He remembered that night...the first night as a human with Kagome. He remembered being bitten but everything else was a bit hazy. But he asked her to use her lap!? "W-What did I say?" Inuyasha demanded once more, half him wanted to know the truth...the other half wished that this conversation was never brought up.

"You told me... that I smelled nice," she finally whispered loud enough for just him to hear before her face turned red again.

All the blood rushed to his face. He said...that to her?! She smelt nice?! Of course she did smell nice to him...but he never actually said it out loud! Well at least he didn't think he did!"I-I did?" He asked, trying to recall the memories but nothing appeared. It was as if that night never really existed his mind. All he could remember was being bitten and then the next moment he was transforming back into his hanyou form and killing that spider demon.

Unable to speak, she only nodded her head. She couldn't believe that she had just told him this! Now what would happen between the two of them?! Thinking back even farther, she added, "It was ...it was right after you declared that you couldn't stand my scent."

"When did I say that?" Inuyasha asked, not remembering that part in his memory.

She let out a soft sigh, knowing that this one name would ruin the entire moment between them."It was back when you kept confusing me for Kikyou. You probably got frustrated at then declared that you couldn't stand my scent," she explained, her mood darkening slightly.

"Oh..." His voice trailed off, now remembering it. He noticed the small change in her mood and had to think of some way to fix it. If there was one thing he hated more than crying Kagome...was angry or jealous Kagome. "I-I don't anymore though..." He stated, his eyes shifted to a tree. "And your scent isn't bad...it's sort of nice..." He murmured the last part, hoping that she wouldn't hear it. He had to admit it, Kikyou smelt a lot like graveyard soil and that didn't mix well with his nose all that much. Compared to Kagome...Kagome smelt amazing!

Unfortunately for him, Kagome _had _heard everything that he had just told her. "R-really?" she murmured, feeling shocked to hear him say it while he was coherent. She felt her face heat up once more. "I-Inuyasha..." She said his name just for emphasis.

She did hear him...half him wanted her to hear him and the other half didn't. But one side had to win..."Y-Yeah." He blushed, still looking away from her, not able to face her. By this time, he was totally ignoring the pain in his body. Kagome was a good distraction at times.

"T-thank you, Inuyasha," she finally said, the blush still evident on her face. She had gotten the courage to look at him, but found that he wasn't staring in her direction.

"K-Keh." Was the only thing that would come out of his mouth. He did not have the strength to look at her nor the courage. So he closed his eyes, trying to calm his body down. His face was still scarlet, and he needed it to return back to it's natural color.

Kagome noticed his expression and sighed. "You should get some rest," she suggested.

Inuyasha snorted lightly in response, already on his way to sleep. Within moments, he fell back into a restless slumber.

Sango brought a bowl of Kagome's ramen to her, she'd fixed up inuyasha's shoulder, then put herself on lunch duty. Keeping a large portion aside for Inuyasha when he woke next, she took Kagome hers."Here, eat something," she said quietly "He'll be fine, Inuyasha is stronger than you think." She smiled returning to the small fire, and the others, dishing out more lunch, before serving herself.

"What about me?" Shippou asked, wondering if he had been forgotten. "You shouldn't let Kagome-chan and that Inuyasha fool you; they're not the only ones in the world!" To be honest, it was good that Kagome-chan and Inuyasha were getting along for once in their lives, but him witnessing all of that mushy-gushy stuff first hand with them seemingly not even realizing it made the young Shippou feel nauseated."I'm hungry, too! _And _my head hurts!" he declared outright. Perhaps, he hoped, some food and attention would help cure him of all his complaints.

Sango smiled opening her arms for the kit as she reached over and grabbed some of Kagome's 'band aids'.Handing a bowl of Ramen to the young kit she started to gently rub his head, then offered which one the kit would like out of the array of colorful miniature sticky bandages.

"How's that Shippo chan any better?" Sango asked as she wrapped the kits head in lots of nice smelling first aid stuff. "Which band-aid would you like?" she asked to place over his lump on his head.

"Ahhh...I'd like the blue one, please," Shippou commented contentedly as he accepted his bowl of ramen gratefully. Though Sango's attention wasn't quite as nice as Kagome-chan's, if Inuyasha was going to lay up pampered, Shippou would certainly make due to do the same by whatever means necessary!

-------

Meanwhile, back at Naraku's castle, the sinister hanyou was making his way down into the basement. The occasional torch was just enough to reflect back the crimson glint held in his eyes as he strode his way into the chamber where his most troublesome incarnation was held captive. Ever since the incident when she was sent to kill Kouga, Kagura had been acting rebellious. Finally tiring himself of it, he had decided to "straighten" her out. "Kagura..." he drawled out in a cat-like purr. "I do hope that you're not feeling too much pain..." It was an obvious taunt, seeing as he sneered at the grimace on her face as she struggled against her chains. Now that he was here, he would finally get the information he wanted out of her. One way or another, he would win.

Kagura sneered at Naraku's comment and didn't reply to him, even though her body was in searing pain. She merely watched the hanyou as he paced back and forth in front of her cell, obviously plotting something.

* * *

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	2. Inuyasha's New Protector

**Another update from the wonderful writers from the "Hanyou no shikon" InuYasha RPG forum. This is a side plot story from our main default plot, that has yet to be started. We're still seeking members such as Kohaku and Jaken before we can start. Please, if you're interested, PM us here or Sesshoumaru's and Inuyasha's fanfic profile account if you wish. All our profiles and links to the accounts are listed on this account's profile page. Please take a look. **

**Now on to the next chapter of his story. We all worked hard on writing this parody, but lately we've all been a bit busy. So the next chapter will take a while to put up, since we haven't gotten that far in the thread either. **

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**Disclaimer: We do not own Inuyasha. All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. **

* * *

Slowly, as Naraku continued to think, his sneer turned into a slight frown. The smug look on her face also served to annoy him. "Kagura, you do know why I did this, right?" he asked, wanting to hear the explanation come out of her own mouth. He was tiring of explaining it over and over while she continued to defy his wishes.

Kagura scoffed at his comment as he seemed to contemplate several things. _This is it. I'm dead! _She thought as she watched him pace,_ Well if I'm going out I'm going to speak my mind._"I know exactly why I'm here, and so do you," she snarled, watching his face as he finally came out of thought, "because I won't be some little rag doll for you to toss around at your will and you're too stupid to just set me free."

Naraku's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at her response. He had never liked the mouth she had on her. He supposed he never had her going against him in his mind while he created her. Taking this as a cue to begin his plan, the smirk returned to his face. "Kagura, since I am your creator," he began, putting emphasis on the fact that she came from his flesh. "I know your personality better than you would like to imagine." His smirk grew into a sinister grin. "So, I would know if you were trying to hide something from me." Moving quickly, his tendrils moved out from behind his body to release the chains that held her against the wall. "So... I'll try to make this as painless as possible..." Looking directly into the crimson eyes that matched his own, he asked, "What are you trying to hide from me?"

"W-what would I have to hide from you?" she snarled, terrified at the concept before her. She swore to herself long ago she would die before she returned to his flesh, and that seemed to be the case currently.

"Come now, Kagura," he drawled out, speaking to her as if she were his small child. "Surely, you don't think you can avoid telling me what you obviously want to keep from me." Reaching out tendrils to wrap around her arms in a near blood restricting fashion, he made no movements to pull her towards him, but kept her upright so that she would continue to look at him. His eyes nearly sparkled with malice. "I wonder..." he purred, his grip tightening even more on her arms as he spoke. "Is it that you hope that information is your last shred of hope to use against me in the future?"

"I-I don't know what the hell you're talking about," she ground out as she felt her flesh bruise and her bones begin to crack. Damn the bastard what did he want from her? Though she doubted like hell she'd actually tell him what he wanted to know

Naraku made a "tsk" noise and made sure she was able to hear it. "I suppose this is the downfall for letting you answer for yourself..." He was referring to the earlier question he asked her. "Ever since you _failed _to kill Kouga, you've been... _acting out _more than usual," Naraku explained, trying to find the appropriate words to use. "I wonder if that jogs your memory a bit?" he taunted as he slowly pulled her body towards his own.

"I have been acting out more because I'm tiered of being your slave," she spat at him getting angered for a few moments before she calmed herself down. Taking in a short breath she continued, "Besides its not that I've been acting out too much more, it's just that you're not as preoccupied with your little mud doll miko any more."

Naraku suppressed the anger he felt from the words she spat in his direction. Instead, his sneer remained in place. "Kagura, you're not in a position to defy me at the moment," he reminded her. "You will have only yourself to blame for not answering my questions." Turning his head slightly, he called for Kanna and waited for her to show herself. Once the girl stood in the light so that the two could see her, he began to speak again. "Show me what happened on that day," he commanded. Kanna nodded her head and showed Kagura's slightly surprised expression at seeing Inuyasha's form and then his sudden attack after the two conversed. After it showed her escaping, the mirror faded back into its dull form. Rotating his face to look at Kagura, he noticed her lack of reaction to finding out that he had been watching her moves as usual. "Now, what was so surprising about Inuyasha's sudden appearance? Surely you didn't forget that his group was that nearby since Kouga had already been injured beforehand."

"I was just surprised to see him that's all," The wind demoness lied as she stared the evil hanyou in the eyes. "I hadn't seen him all night so I figured him to be incapacitated. And quite frankly, I think you're looking too much into this."

Naraku just raised his eyebrow. "I suppose if your mind was read, the answer would remain the same?" he taunted. It was a bluff to get her reaction. But, even she didn't know all of the powers he had given Akago/Hakudoushi. "You know how much I dislike lies, Kagura..."

Deciding to give in some what Kagura replied, "What if I did see something? What would I get from telling you what I know?" She was trying to sound strong, despite knowing horrible pain would probably await her.

Naraku nearly laughed at Kagura's question. The answer was obvious. She should have known that by now. "If you tell me what I want to know, I'll let you continue living. And maybe, I'll even give you a few extra days of _freedom _outside of these walls..." It was obvious that the "freedom" was emphasized in order to taunt her. "However, if you don't..." He left the sentence hanging, wanting to know her answer.

Kagura glared at him and decided to call him on what was possibly a bluff. "You won't kill me. You _need _the information I know. So why don't you let me go free and I'll tell you what I saw? Seems only fair to me."

Naraku's eyes narrowed slightly. However, he found himself smirking. Releasing her arms, he threw her on the ground roughly. "I'll give you three days." Pausing to watch her try to stand, he added, "Now tell me what you know."

Kagura whimpered and drug herself back up as she glared at the evil hanyou. She wanted her freedom but for now she'd take the three days. "The last time I ran off I saw InuYasha. He looked strange, no pointy ears and black hair," she stated as she tried to give him all of the facts without any of her assumptions. "He was only that way for a moment, so make of it what you will."

Naraku nodded, taking in the information. After it clicked in his mind, he gave a sneer. "You can leave my sight for now," he told her, now finding out more than he anticipated. Inuyasha's _human _night. Based on when he sent her out, Naraku figured out that his night of weakness was on the night of the new moon.

Kagura scurried away from Naraku and hurried out of the castle desprate to escape from the vile bastard's grip as soon as possible. As soon as she was out of the castle she pulled a feather out of her hair and took off into the air. _I should probably warn InuYasha. After I go and see his brother._

----

Sango picked out the blue band aid and as gently as a slayer could placed it onto Shippou's head. "I know I'm not as gentle as Kagome-chan, but I'll give you my all Shippo, whilst Kagome is busy with Inuyasha." The taijiya said quietly as she watched him."And as my injured little trooper, would you like an extra bowl of Ramen?" she asked knowing that the kit would like being treated better than Inuyasha was.

Eyes widening in gleeful surprise at the offer of extra ramen, Shippou responded, "Yes, please!" with only a quiet snicker under his breath which (he guaranteed) truly sounded like an appreciative himself to settle back and relax now that he was assured of his superior treatment in comparison to Inuyasha and his head was cleared of its previous pounding, Shippou, naturally, began to thoughtfully ponder a few things. The still atmosphere, he roughly observed, was disquiet and somewhat disconcerting for the young youkai, especially as he gazed across the room at his two oldest friends..."Sango, Inuyasha is okay, isn't he? He didn't get himself too badly hurt this time, did he? Beyond repair, I mean," he asked subtly, not wanting Kagome to hear him. Though, considering how she had worried herself over the hanyou this entire time, he doubted she would be paying much attention, which was why he was bothering to question the situation in the first place (it wasn't as if he couldn't add two and two together). "Kagome-chan seems a bit upset, and I can't put too much passed a baka such as him..." He resisted the temptation to roll his eyes at the thought of Inuyasha's common stupidity and how it hurt Kagome on a regular basis; he was trying to be a bit serious, after all!

Sango cast her eyes towards Kagome and Inuyasha "You know Inuyasha, better than I do, he is reckless on most occasions. But he always survives, its only ever his pride that takes a real beating, his body just tried to catch up." She smiled offering a little light humor towards the kit."But he'll be fine, cranky as always. But he'll be his normal self in a couple of days!" she added afterwards, a sincere smile upon her face, as she brought the second bowl to Shippo.

Shippou suppressed a heartening laugh with his hand. "That's so true--Inuyasha really needs to get over himself," he replied. It was one thing he could appreciate about Sango: she had a knack for clearly acknowledging the flaws of others and dealing with them in a manner he could agree with (akin to Kagome's osuwari, of course)...well, that and she could totally kick demons' hindquarters and she kept Miroku in check, among other things."Hey! Where is Miroku?" he asked suddenly. The monk had been strangely absent this entire time. Shippou could only hope he wasn't out baying the women of the local area with his perverted tendencies. He didn't need two upset women to have to take care of..._Really! Am I the only real man around here? _Shippou sincerely wondered.

Sango looked around the camp, realizing Shippou had a valid point."Where did Miroku go?" she wondered silently trying to remember where she'd last seen the houshi.

Shippou stared at the various empty spaces that Miroku could have (and should have) been occupying. "That is odd..." he murmured to himself, his face blank. Absentmindedly, he lazily came to remember something regarding his companion gone AWOL. "Wasn't he here when we were attacked? He commented on Inuyasha's injuries...but now he's disappeared on us! He's about as useless as someone else I know!" Shippou could only be thankful that certain someone else was not awake to hear him or in any condition to become infuriated with him for all the disrespectful things he had been saying--or at least to an extent that Shippou would be able to tell whether he was or not....

"I swear when I get my hands on that monk, I'm going to wring his scrawny little neck!" Sango hissed.

--

Kagome woke up next morning. She looked at her hanyô friend as he slept.

She smiled."He's so cute when he's sleeping..."She smiled a little bit more."He slept the first time I met him too…" she thought and blushed. She gently brushed his bangs away from his eyes.

Sango awoke to still finding no sign of Miroku. "Damn Monk, I swear he will get his head pummeled twice as hard for this. He always picks his blasted moments, and they're always at the wrong times!" Sango hissed looking towards the spot Miroku usually occupied only to see it still vacant.

Inuyasha's ears twitched as he awoke, groaning slightly at the pain in his abdomen. His eyes slowly opened and once his vision focused, he looked to see everyone awake, except for Shippou and Miroku was still missing for some odd reason. Inuyasha attempted to move but found that his wound was still healing. _Damn Sesshoumaru...I won't let him get away with this..._

Miroku continued to hide from Sango. There was no way he'd risk getting a pummeling from her. Maybe he'd wait until her ire had cooled sighed. Women were so confusing.

---

Sesshoumaru was currently walking towards where he thought Naraku was located. Rin and Jaken were following behind him as usual. However, upon catching the scent of Kagura and feeling the wind pick up, his facial features hardened. "Jaken, get Rin and Ah-Un out of this area." Knowing that his servant could also catch Kagura's scent, he didn't bother to look back to make sure Jaken had done his job. Sesshoumaru just knew it was done.

After only a few minuets of flying away from Naraku's castle the demoness stumbled upon the white haired inu youkai. Landing in front of him she knelt down a bit, adding dramatics to her entrance. "Hello Sesshoumaru," Kagura said plainly as she stood back up and looked him straight in the eyes.

His eyes reflected annoyance while the rest of his face remained frozen in place. "State your business here," Sesshoumaru commanded, not wanting to waste time.

Kagura was unsure of what to say. She really didn't know why she came to him just that she wanted to see him. "Because I can for once in my life," she answered honestly as she stared into his golden eyes without fear.

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Naraku has me on a short leash normally," Kagura spat, angered by even the thought of the hanyou. "I managed to get some free time by selling your brother out."

"Ah," Sesshoumaru murmured, having a vague idea of what type of hell Naraku put her through. He then paused. "...What do you mean by 'selling out my brother'?" he demanded.

"I," she said as she took a step back so she would be just outside of his immediate reach in case he wanted to kill her. "I think I saw InuYasha as a human and told Naraku about it. If I didn't he would've tortured the hell out of me until I did, damn it."

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "And Naraku is sure to take advantage of this news," The daiyoukai murmured to himself. He was annoyed at Kagura's actions, but couldn't completely blame her. "Based on my assumption, he'll end up where my brother is on that night," he added. Thinking upon it more, he scoffed. "Naraku is a pathetic being."

"It won't just be him, he'll try and take out InuYasha's entire group," Kagura said as she looked around, knowing she was being watched by Naraku somehow. "You have to warn him," she whispered out so that if anyone was watching they wouldn't be able to hear her but Sesshoumaru would.

Sesshoumaru scoffed again. "Why would I do such a thing? I nearly killed him a few days ago," he told her. However, despite this front, he knew that would be there to prevent Naraku from getting his way. If only for that one reason.

"Because you owe me," the woman scoffed back as she took a step closer to him and grabbed the handle of Tokijin, continuing, "because I told you where this was."

Toukijin instantly backlashed against Kagura's touch, burning her hand. "Humph," he snorted. "Is that all you came here to tell me?"

Laughing, she replied to him, drawing her fan with her other hand and spread it to cover the bottom half of her face, "I told you, I came here because I wanted to. And I'm going to continue to follow you until I'm forced to go back."

Sesshoumaru didn't visually react to Kagura's statement. "Do as you wish." It wasn't as if he could control her, anyway.

"Good," Kagura said as she snapped her fan shut, looking at the handsome inu-youkai. "You weren't gonna get rid of me any way."

It wasn't like he anticipated her leaving when she announced her staying. Deciding that she was no longer a threat, he turned around and went to looking for his group. When he spotted Rin and Jaken, he caught their attention and they set out again. "Milord, what's that witch doing here?" Jaken bellowed upon seeing Kagura. "She chose to travel with us for the time being," Sesshoumaru simply answered, allowing Kagura to have her own say.

"I only have a few days toad so don't worry," she scoffed annoyed by the little toad. "Though if you get on my nerves I won't hesitate to fling you about."

"W-what?! Are you trying to threaten me?!" Jaken squawked, getting irritated. "Jaken!" Sesshoumaru called, his voice rising with authority. Upon hearing Sesshoumaru's voice, Jaken immediately closed his mouth. Obviously, his lord wasn't in the mood to hear fighting today."We are going to see Inuyasha," the daiyoukai announced, not caring about what anyone thought of it.

"Sesshoumaru wait," the woman spat as she glared at the demon lord. "I can't go anywhere near him. If I do I'll probably end up dead. No I _will _end up dead."

"...Then what do you suppose we should do about that? I am not going to let Naraku get away with what he's apparently plotting," Sesshoumaru said, his voice growing colder by each word.

"Well tell him some other way," the woman whispered as she glared at him. "I'm not sure how. Send your lackey or something."

"You're following _me_, are you not?" Sesshoumaru asked Kagura, turning to directly address her.

"Fine but if I die I'm going to haunt you until the end of time," Kagura spat as she plucked a feather from her hair.

"You are aware that you can hide?" Sesshoumaru said, indirectly suggesting it to her. He wasn't like Naraku. He would not send out his servants to do the work he should do first-hand.

"Naraku can kill me from a distance," The wind demoness spat as she placed a hand over her chest gently. "I could be half way around the world and he could kill me in an instant."

Sesshoumaru shook his head. "No, I meant hide somewhere close by when I went to see Inuyasha. I didn't mean for you to hide somewhere on the other side of the world." His eyes narrowed. "I will not send Jaken to do a job that I should do myself." Besides, Inuyasha could possibly kill Jaken and then how would the information get back to them?

"Fine but my threat still stands," Kagura said as she blew a gust of wind away from her body and towards the inu-youkai.

Sesshoumaru didn't react to her comment or to her wind. Looking back towards Jaken and Rin, he called, "We will keep moving." "Yes, milord!" Jaken croaked, following after his lord with Ah-Un and Rin in tow. The daiyoukai looked forward and continued to walk towards where Inuyasha's scent would lead them.

Kagura sighed and placed the feather back in her hair and followed after the stronger youkai. _I have a feeling that I'm going to die due to this, _she mentally muttered as she followed him.

------------A Day Later----------

While the others were busy themselves with a game Kagome brought from her era, Inuyasha sat in a tree, scowling and sulking. _We've wasted so much time here! Who knows what Naraku is doing now! _Inuyasha thought, his wound still healing. Despite him wanting to leave the area, the others wanted him to rest for one more day at least. It annoyed the hell out of him...but when Kagome began to say the "word", he didn't argue. _I'll get this necklace off one day..._

Sesshoumaru was nearing Inuyasha's campsite, catching the faint scent of Inuyasha's blood. It was obvious that the hanyou was not completely healed from their feud. He had told the others to hide while he decided to go out in the open. Not wanting to fight, but half-expecting one, he was on the defensive. His expression changed into that of a cold smirk once he saw his brother sulking in a tree. "It's nice to see you again, little brother. You seem to be faring well since our last encounter..." he addressed, not being one to make a quiet entrance.

Inuyasha's anger flared as the sound of his brother's entered his ears. He glared down at him in much disdain, jumping from the tree and landing only a few meters away from Sesshoumaru. "Here for a rematch Sesshoumaru!?" Inuyasha snarled, ignoring the pain he felt in his abdomen.

Sesshoumaru scoffed. "No, nothing of the sort," he answered. "I'd rather not kick a dog while it's still down."

Inuyasha gnashed his teeth in rage, his eyes narrowing at his brother. "What the hell do you want then!?" The hanyou growled, his hand on the hilt of Tessaiga.

Sesshoumaru was indifferent to Inuyasha's typical reaction. "I came to give you some information that may or may not result in your death."

"Since when have you ever cared about _giving _me information?! And besides...three days ago you were trying to kill me! Angry because someone might beat you to it?!" Inuyasha growled, letting his anger cloud his better judgement...as always.

Sesshoumaru wanted to walk away and leave the hanyou to his death, but he stopped himself. "Your wench still has a few shards of the Shikon no Tama, correct?" The daiyoukai suddenly asked out of nowhere.

Inuyasha was caught off guard by his question. Since when did Sesshoumaru give a rat's ass about the shikon jewel shards? "Why do you want to know?" His anger hadn't totally dissolved, but was replaced by curiosity.

"Because if Naraku succeeds this time around, he'll most likely be able to control the world," Sesshoumaru stated bluntly. He knew that besides the human boy and wolf, his brother's group had the most amount of Jewel shards.

"What the hell are you talking about, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha demanded. Naraku was going to try and kill him...pfft...that was old news. But why would he succeed this time? And why did Sesshoumaru actually believe he was going to succeed?"What makes you think Naraku is going to succeed in killing me this time!?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and his expression grew cold. "Naraku knows your night of weakness."

Inuyasha's eyes widen slightly, but since it was Sesshoumaru telling him this...he couldn't believe him. "You're lying!" Inuyasha spat, shaking his head. How could Naraku know?! He was so careful! No, he didn't. Sesshoumaru was trying to rile him up as always. Yes, that was it. Naraku didn't know about his night of weakness.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed into slits of ice. "Inuyasha, I have never _lied _to you before so why would I start now?" he demanded. "If this wasn't Naraku that I knew, I wouldn't have bothered to go through this type of trouble." It took all of his willpower to prevent himself from taking the job away from Naraku. If there was one thing that pissed Sesshoumaru off. It was being called a liar.

Inuyasha felt a chill run down his spine...his brother wasn't lying. Sesshoumaru wasn't a liar and he knew that..."N-Naraku k-knows..." Inuyasha's eyes widen in horror. What would happen on that night? How could his friends fight against Naraku without him?! _They would all die...as would he...and Naraku would win. _"Dammit, how did he find out!?"

Sesshoumaru inwardly didn't want to get Kagura in any more trouble than she was in right now but knew that it would eventually get out anyways. Turning towards where he knew that she hiding, he spoke. "Kagura, show yourself."

Kagura let out a sigh as she stepped out from behind a nearby tree and readied her fan at her side, just in case InuYasha wanted to try anything.

All Inuyasha's rage was now directed towards Kagura. "You bitch!" He roared, unsheathing Tessaiga and darting towards her. He was still a hanyou now...an injured one, but a hanyou nevertheless. If he could finish off one of Naraku's underlings...he'd be a bit satisfied.

Kagura jumped into the air, floating in the air as she avoided the man's attack. "I didn't have a choice you idiot," she said as she prepared to defend herself if he attacked again. "Trust me, I would've much rather used it as leverage against you to kill the bastard."

Sesshoumaru knew that it would happen, but Inuyasha would have found out on his own eventually. Though, he was also unsure about the details that led to her confessing to Naraku. Did he torture her?

"Like hell I'd believe that! You're one of his damn incarnations!" Inuyasha growled, readying himself to leap into the air and to attack Kagura. "You probably told Naraku the first cha--" Inuyasha's wound reopened and he dropped Tessaiga, crumbling to his knees. "Shit...dammit!" Inuyasha cursed angrily, glaring at Kagura.

Kagura snapped her fan shut and walked up to the hanyou offering her hand to help him up. "I'm not here to fight you you dumb mutt," she cursed as she bent down to help him.

"I may not know very much about this myself, but if Kagura were really siding with Naraku, why would she wait until now to tell him? Why not tell him the night of finding out?" Sesshoumaru thought out loud, not directly trying to defend her.

Inuyasha growled as Kagura approached him. "I don't need your help, wench." He spat angrily, holding his stomach and could feel the blood begin to seep through the clothing. Wobbly, he stood up and turned to Sesshoumaru. "How the hell am I suppose to know what goes on in her damn mind!?" _What now?! What do I do? The new moon...isn't that far away...and since Naraku knows...there is no use of me hiding...he'll find me the next moonless night...dammit!_

"Easy I want one thing, my freedom. I never wanted to be used by that bastard from day one," Kagura snarled as she glared at the hanyou. "Trust me I didn't wanna tell him. But I wasn't about to throw away my life just for you."

"All I know is that I'm not going to allow Naraku to succeed in getting what he wants," Sesshoumaru vowed, not even reacting to Inuyasha's condition.

Inuyasha growled, "There isn't a damn thing I can do to stop Naraku!" He feared for his friends' lives more than his own. If he was human...how could he stop Naraku from killing them!?

"Maybe you can go hide in some hole or something," Kagura suggested as she looked at the stubborn hanyou. "I mean isn't that how you've lived those nights until now?"

"Inuyasha !" Kagome shouted for the second time that day. It was obvious that the others hadn't heard her, but now that it seemed apparent that no one was going to hurt Inuyasha any further, she ran up to him. "Inuyasha, please don't try to move too much. Your wound's already open," she murmured, not caring about his ego since her concern outweighed it in her up at Sesshoumaru, a thought clicked together in her mind. "If you're trying to prevent Naraku from succeeding, does that mean you're going to protect Inuyasha?" she couldn't help but ask. That in itself seemed impossible, especially because of what had happened just three days ago!

Inuyasha threw a death glare at Kagura but his gaze shifted to Kagome and then to Sesshoumaru...back to Kagome. "Like hell he wants protect me, Kagome! Get real! This jackass just came by to tell me the day I'm going to die or trying to beat Naraku to it!"

"Yeah, but if you die, the rest of us would most likely die with you! And the Shikon shards will become his without any opposition!" Kagome reminded him. "I think he's thinking farther ahead than that. If he wanted to kill you, he would have done it three days ago." Looking back at Sesshoumaru, she could tell he was getting annoyed with how he was being talked about in the open. "...Right?" The miko said, directing it towards him.

Sesshoumaru was annoyed, indeed. Why didn't they just directly speak to him instead of arguing back and forth like children? "I have no interest in taking Inuyasha's life at the moment. However, for you to assume that I would 'protect' him is ridiculous," he stated.

"Told you so." Inuyasha snorted, grimacing as he stood up and turned away from Sesshoumaru. "If that was all you wanted to tell me, then leave. I don't have time to waste with you, Sesshoumaru."_I have to get everyone somewhere safe. Kagome can go to her era...and maybe the others can split up...and I can face Naraku alone to spare their lives..._

"Like I said why not just have him hide under some rock or throw him in a hole or something," the demoness said as she looked at the young couple. "I mean that would be the best thing to do for all of you, hide out until this blows over. There has to be some place safe."

"Okay, Kagura...I'll just do that...but what about the next moonless night, huh?! I'm not going to run away like a coward, Kagura. I'll fight till my last breath. I'll face him alone if I have to, but I won't have my friends in danger because I can't protect them!" Inuyasha snapped at the wind witch.

"So you'll run up and die to protect them that night just so he can go and hunt them down the next day?" the demoness pondered as she looked at the man, having overestimated his mental capacity a bit.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me the first time, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said, getting his brother's attention. "I am not going to let Naraku succeed."

Inuyasha ignored Kagura's prattle and turned to Sesshoumaru. "So...you're saying you won't protect me...but you won't let Naraku kill me neither?" _Isn't that the same thing?!_

"Call if what you will, but the case remains the same," Sesshoumaru only responded. Saying that he would "protect" was implying that he cared about Inuyasha. The was the last thing he wanted people to think.

"So what do you plan to do? Follow us around for two weeks?" Inuyasha asked, slightly annoyed. It annoyed and pissed him off so much! He didn't need his older brother's attention...but Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru with hopeful eyes. _Dammit...I don't need him tagging along with us for two weeks...I don't care if I die...but if he can protect the others...I don't have a problem with it._

"I'll do whatever it takes in order for me to see Naraku dead," Sesshoumaru replied, indirectly confirming Inuyasha's suspicions. He hated the idea of it, also, but it was the only thing he could think of. Who knew when Naraku would attack?

"Fine, whatever." Inuyasha growled, looking away and walked over to Kagome who already began to take out medical supplies for his wounds.

Kagome started to take care of his wounds. She was half confused, half happy that Sesshoumaru said that he'd stay with them. If he hadn't, she was sure that Inuyasha would send her home, and she didn't want that. She turned to the others in her group."Well, what do we do now till then?"

"Well I'd better pick out a nice grave site," Kagura sighed as she leaned against a tree. "I really don't think that I'm gonna get out of this alive so I might as well not even go back to Naraku."

"What do you think we can do, Kagome? Unless Naraku is going to come out of hiding...we'll have to wait for him to come to us...on the night of the new moon..." Inuyasha growled, slightly irritated.

"Well..." said Kagome and finished her work with putting on bandages."We can look for him and try to do something before he makes his move. If we fail, well then I guess that we'll just have to fight until your powers are back!" said Kagome and handed him his clothes. She sounded calm, but she was worried. What if they didn't find Naraku? What if he actually would succed in... killing Inuyasha. She wouldn't be able to stand that! She swallowed back some tears.

"Whatever..." He murmured, closing up his haori and jumped into a tree away from everyone else. Away from Sesshoumaru.

* * *

**Sesshoumaru, whether he thinks so or not, is now Inuyasha's protector. How will the brothers manage to get along in the next two weeks? Will Sesshoumaru be able to tolerate Inuyasha for two straight weeks without killing him? Who knows...**

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